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Can you believe that it's nearly December?! Before we know it Christmas will be long gone and summer will be with us! Anyway, if you hadn't of already guessed todays post is going to my November favourites.

This month i've been loving a bunch of new products, which has been really nice as I hadn't really been loving many products things last month. Anyway, let's get into my favourites this month.

First up was a no brainer for me with the Nars One Night Stand Palette(review here). After purchasing this about two weeks ago I have literally used it everyday that i've worn makeup, it's my go to product of the minute and is definitely one that I'll love for a long long time. Sticking with makeup, next up is the Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation (which I will be reviewing soon). After finally purchasing this a few weeks back, again I have used this everyday that i've worn makeup and I just love it. It last's so well throughout a long day and helps to keep my oiliness at bay. Next up is the Nails Inc Kate Space 'Big Apple Red' Nail Varnish, which has been the only nail colour I have worn this month. I love the classic red shade to this and is so fitting for the season and it lasts really well on the nails and the fact it was a freebie makes it even better!

Moving onto skincare this month i've really been appreciating my Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish. After finally repurchasing this after not having it my life for a good few months, my skin has literally thanked me so much recently. It works great to remove makeup and give my skin a good cleanse but I think i'm gonna need to stop using this soon just incase my skin starts to get too used to it. Lastly i've been loving the Boots Botanics Ultra Calm Day Cream as it has worked wonders to sort out my sensitive dry patches that have appeared recently. It really helps to hydrate and to calm the irritated areas whilst leaving my skin with a nice glow.

So that is my November favourites! What have you been loving this month?

Today I have the next instalment of my Christmas Gift Guide series and this one is all the things i'm wishing for this Christmas. I thought this would also be quite good to give you guys a few idea's if you're struggling with Christmas presents for friends or family, or even yourselves.

Now looking at my wish list you can totally tell that i'm more of a beauty girl than a fashion girl and this wish list consists of all the bits and pieces i've been lusting over for quite some time now. So let's get into it!

1. First up is the Soap&Glory Once Upon a Lime Giftset, now if you know me, then you'll know that I love anything Soap&Glory but I particularly like the Sugar Crush range so this is set immediatly caught my eye. Containing all of the Sugar Crush products and a little loofer thing, this set is perfect for me and would make a really lovely Christmas present for anyone you know you also loves Soap&Glory.

2. Next is the Zoeva Nude Palette, now i've already asked my mum for Naked3 Palette this Christmas but i've also been lusting after this one after I saw a few bloggers raving about this. To me it's the perfect nude palette and looking at it i'd use pretty much every shade in this palette and it's only £16 for 28 shades, bargain!

3. Probably the only non beauty item and that is the Black Low Converse. I literally live in my Converse and i've wanted an all black pair for such a long time, they'd go with everything especially as I tend to wear a lot of black/darker colours and I know i'd get a lot of wear out of these.

4. Back to beauty, the next product is the Real Techniques Sam's Picks Set. I have been waiting for RT to release a set like this and now they finally have of course I want it! Containing six brushes that are described as the only brushes you will ever need to create the perfect makeup look. Now I already own two of the brushes in this set, but they are the ones I use the most so i'd happily have more than one of those. I think this set is perfect, especially for someone who loves RT brushes or wants to try out RT brushes.

5. Last up is books, I decided to group these together as i've wanted all of them for quite some time now and they are Lauren Conrad Beauty, Alexa Chung IT and Lauren Conrad Style. After so many people ranting and raving about these books it's got to the point where I need them ha! I also think they'd make great Christmas presents for any beauty/fashion lover and are books that look so good within your book collection.

So that is my Christmas Wish List! I hope this has given you guys some ideas for presents or things that you'd like for Christmas.

Yes, I know you've probably read a bunch of different reviews on this palette and I initially wasn't going to purchase it, but when it came back into stock I just knew I had to have it. It was like fate, something that doesn't make many appearances in my life and I couldn't pass on this.

L-R: Devotee, Mistinguette, Orgasm, Laguna, Deep Throat, Goulue.

If you haven't already seen or heard, this palette is a part of the Nars Guy Bourdin Collection for Holiday 2013. Taking inspiration from Bourdin's colour saturated and sensual photography from the 1980's, Nars have produced this truly amazing palette containing three signature shades from the Nars main line and three new limited edition shades.

Starting on the top row, the first shade is Devotee a lovely subtle highlight that I find quite similar to one of my Topshop highlighter's but I find this lasts really well and adds just the right amount of highlight. The second shade is Mistinguette, which is this bright candy pink matte blush. Very scary looking but applying the smallest amount of this adds a lovely amount of flush to your cheeks for those days when your skin needs a little pick me up. The third shade is Orgasm, which i'm sure you've all heard of before and I think is one of Nars' most hyped about blushes. Having never tried this I was so excited and I was not disappointed. This is a lovely blush shade and I love that it adds a lovely glow to your cheeks with the little gold shimmer that runs through this blush. Personally I think this blush would suit any skin tone, even us pale girls.Now onto the bottom row, starting off withLaguna another hyped Nars' product and the only bronzer in this palette. I've also wanted to try this for a very long time, described as the perfect bronzer and/or highlighter which I couldn't agree more with. I have been using this to contour, whilst also using it as a bronzer and I love it. So much so, some people have complimented how nice my makeup has been looking recently. The second shade is Deep Throat, the last of the main line Nars shades and another i've wanted for a while. For me this is the perfect happy medium between Mistinguette and Orgasm, which I use on the days where i'm going for a minimal makeup look. The third and final shade in the bottom row is Goulue (don't ask me to pronounce it!). For me this is very similar to Orgasm, but it's that slightly bit darker and i've kind of been mixing these two shades together as they work so well together for an everyday look.

As i'm not a die hard Nars fan I haven't actually used any of signature shades in this palette before, which is what drew me to this palette as i'd been dying to try them but I couldn't justify splurging on them and i'm so glad I waited as this palette turns out to be cheaper than buying just the three signature shades on their own, bargain in my eyes! Unfortunately I believe this palette is now fully sold out, which is such a shame as this is a lovely palette, I do hope they bring the three new shades into the main line or into another palette at some point.

Today I have the first instalment of my Christmas Gift Guide series, which will be running over the next couple of weeks! This one I was super excited to put up first because the lovely people at Fragrance Direct contacted me about reviewing some of the amazing gift sets they have in stock which, if you know someone who loves perfume then these will make the perfect Christmas Present.

The first gift set I chose was the Marc Jacobs Dot Gift Set, which I had been dying to get my hands on ever since giving this a sniff a few months ago. The first thing that drew me to this was the cute bottle packaging that resembles a lady bug and the gift set packaging just adds to the cuteness with that big red bow! I love this scent, it's the perfect fruity feminine fragrance with top notes of red berries, honey suckle and dragon fruit, which instantly draws you in. With subtle hints of vanilla and jasmine this fragrance is perfect for the sophisticated girly girls of today. This beautiful gift set also includes a body lotion and shower gel that leaves your skin smooth and soft, with a subtle hint of the Dot fragrance that lingers all day.

The second gift set I chose was the Vivienne Westwood Boudoir Gift Set. This fragrance i've heard a lot people raving about, describing it as a musky yet sophisticated fragrance that represents strong independent women. Top notes of vibernum and madarin introduce hints of cinnamon, tobacco leaves, english red rose and vanilla which round off the fragrance beautifully. For me this fragrance is a little too musky for my liking, which is shame but if you know someone who prefers muskier scents over fresh floral scents then this would make an awesome Christmas present. The packaging is so cute, I love how the box doubles as a vanity with the little mirror in the lid and the bottle is so cute, but still very sophisticated. This beautiful gift set also includes a body lotion, which is a lovely little extra and i'm sure would leave your skin feeling super smooth and soft.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Now for the exciting bit! As the Vivienne Westwood Gift Set wasn't quite to my taste I decided, rather than keeping it or giving it to someone as a Christmas present, i'd do a Christmas giveaway where one of you lucky people could win the gift set. See all the entry T/C's below...

If you want to be within the chance of winning this amazing Vivienne Westwood Boudoir Gift Set, then simply use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

RULES

1. This giveaway is open to Internationally!

2. This giveaway will run for two weeks ending on the 14th December.

3. I will be checking entries and deleting any false entries, including giveaway accounts.
4. The winner will be chosen at random through the Rafflecopter, which I will then contact and said winner will have 3 days to respond before another winner is chosen.

So yesterday afternoon I was well into the zone with my uni work when I had a knock on the front door. To my surprise it was my BirchBox, which of course was a lovely little pick me up after slaving away at my laptop for about four hours.

I had kind of forgot about my BirchBox this month and after last months box I wasn't too sure how they could match it or even top it but it's safe to say BirchBox know what they're doing.

This months box is based around icons, looking to the women of today who are empowering and strong, to give us that bit of motivational boost to look our best and to inspire us to be the best versions of ourselves as the colder weather draws in. I really like the idea behind this months box, it's something completely different and i'm really excited by some of the brands/products within this months box.

The first product in this months box is the Weleda Replenishing Oat Shampoo, which i'm really excited to try out. Said to be a gentle shampoo containing natural jojoba oil to smooth, reduce breakage and improve suppleness. As we all know I have pretty damaged hair, so i'm always up for trying out hair products targeted to damaged hair. Next up is the Matriskin Collagen MP Serum, which looked like a pretty weird sample to start with but this serum contains Hyaluronic acid and 47 different peptides that work together to plump, regenerate and restructure the skin. As i'm getting more into skincare i'm really intrigued to see if this will help to hydrate my skin over the colder months without making it too oily, we shall see. Next up is probably the most excitable product, the Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara. I've heard some great things about this mascara and i've wanted to try it for such a long time.. so yeah i'm gonna stop rambling now.

The next product is one that i've needed to get my hands on for some time and a little goodie extra of this months box is the Birchbox Pencil Sharpener. I lost mine when I moved house and my pencil eyeliner was literally unusable, so i'm so happy to have got this, this month. The next product is one I can use with the previous product, handy I suppose and that the Chella Highlighter Pencil. Now, i'm not too sure how I feel about a highlighter in pencil form but I will see how I get on with this one. Now, I love perfume.. what girl doesn't? I also love perfume samples as this gives you the chance to try out a perfume before purchasing the full size bottle so this mini sample of English Laundry Signature for Her Perfume was a nice surprise. Lastly in this months box is a lovely selection of Pukka Herbs Teabags. Now, I love a good cuppa but i'm not a huge flavoured tea fan but I will give these a try as i'm always open to trying new things. Better than wasting them, ay.

So that is this months Birchbox and i'm really impressed! Every product I will use and it feels that this box has been somewhat tailored to me with a wide range of products suited to what I look for when it comes to choosing products.

It's been a while since my first mini review's series post went up, so I thought it was about time I followed it up. I noticed I had a lot of skincare sample products in my 'to review' pile and having used all of them for some time now I thought why not throw them all together.

Origins Dr.Weil Mega Bright Skin Illuminating Cleanser - I received this as a freebie when I purchased the GinZing Moisturiser and I was eager to give this a whirl. Described as a refreshing foam cleanser with Dr. Weil's natural Mega Bright skin illuminating, light infusing complex that purifies the skin and melts dulling. As I would describe my skin as quite dull, I thought this might be a pretty decent product. Following instructions, I used this for a good two weeks as my cleanser and it's safe to say this particular cleanser wasn't for me. I just found it left my skin feeling very tight and ultra shiny, almost as if the cleanser left a sheen to my skin which got oiler throughout the day to the point where it literally melted my make-up away. It worked really well to remove makeup and it did a really good job to remove any dirt from my skin, but I guess this one just wasn't for me.

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic - This product is another that I received as a freebie when I purchased something from Liz Earle quite a while back and having not tried many Liz Earle products, I was excited to see what this would do for my skin. Described as a heavenly floral scented toner that refreshes the skin after using the Cleanse & Polish. I've used this product on and off for a long while now and it's a product that I neither love or hate. It works well to tone and refresh the skin but I have noticed that when my skin a little dry it does irritate it, so I have to be careful with this one but it is a lovely toner.

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream - I got this as a freebie in a magazine quite a while back and i'd never really used an eye cream before as I never thought I needed one but this one has somewhat converted me. Jam packed with lots of natural ingredients including cucumber, skin brightening lemon and witch hazel this product is designed to hydrate and brighten the eye area. I've been using this on and off, when I feel the need mainly in the morning to help wake up my skin and reduce the puffiness of my tired eyes. I really like this product and you literally need the smallest amount, so this sample is lasting me really well!

Ren Evercalm Gentle Cleasning Milk - This I got as a magazine freebie along with a few other Ren products a few months back and i'd been wanting to try some Ren products for a while so again I was pretty excited. Described as a gentle cleansing milk for sensitive and delicate skin, to cleanse and sooth. Leaving the skin feeling calm, purified and soothed whilst also removing dirt and makeup. As I mentioned in my previous post, my skin has been pretty irritated recently and this I found helped so well to calm and sooth my dry skin without irritating even more. For the first Ren product i've ever sampled i'm pretty impressed and I can't wait to try more.

Origins GinZing Eye Cream - This is another freebie I got when I purchased the GinZing Moisturiser and one i'd wanted to try for a while. Similarly to the moisturiser, this is designed to wake up the eye area by brightening, depuffing and reducing the appearance of dark circles. Similarly to the Balance Me Eye Cream, i've been applying this one in the mornings to help wake up my eye area and reduce the puffy look I have when I first wake up. It works really well for me and just like the moisturiser I love this, so much so I will probably purchased the full size when I use this up.

I know i've literally just posted a haul but I wanted to get this one up so I could start using the products and show you guys i'd purchased them before I review them. My skin has really been acting up recently, not breaking out but it's just all of sudden really dry and nothing I do seems to be helping it so I got dressed and dragged myself down to Boots to get some products that could help my skin out.

The first thing I picked up isn't actually a skincare product as such but one i'd wanted to try for a few weeks and that is the new Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation. With my skin being really dry all of my foundations were sticking to every bit of dry skin making it so much more noticeable and a few people had said to me that this product doesn't cling to dry skin at all, so yeah.. I bought it.

Now onto the skincare products, the first thing I picked up was the Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash. I've heard some great things about Boots own skincare range and this product is said to gently cleanse away impurities leaving the skin smoother and brighter. As i'd only been using one cleanser I think my skin had basically got used to it, so I picked this up to add into my skincare and i'll use this in rotation of my other cleanser. Next up I spotted the Boots Botanics Ultra Calm Skin Calming Day Cream SPF15. As my skin has been so dry lately whenever I have tried to moisturise, it has left my skin with an unbearable burning sensation almost as if my skin has been irritated and this product is described as skin calming I grabbed it to inspect further and I ended up buying it. I used this last night, as I didn't want to buy both the day and night cream and when I woke up this morning my skin looked and felt so much better. Lastly, I needed some new face wipes as I always like to have some just incase and I noticed the Nivea Gentle Cleansing Facial Wipes for Dry Skin were reduced. I've been using their primer from this range and as that works miracles on my dry skin I thought these were less likely to irritate any dry areas, being formulated for dry skin and all that.

So that is my little Boots haul, I will be reporting back on all of these products as I want to start featuring more skincare products on my blog.

I know i've literally just posted a haul, but yesterday my mum and me popped to Merry Hill for a little afternoon of retail therapy and to help her find a dress for her cruise formal night, safe to say I picked out the most flaterring and stunning dress for her. Whilst we were there we had a little mooch in Primark and I ended up picking up a few things that I couldn't not share with you guys!

So the first thing I picked up was this Black Embossed Top, which is the hardest thing to photograph ever so sorry if it's a little hard to see but I just loved the subtle embossed wallpaper print on the front. This is slightly cropped and I thought it would work really well with my MOM jeans to slightly dress them up. (Just a quick note I picked up a size 6, so I think this is supposed to be oversized or they've got the sizes really wrong). The next thing I picked up was this cute Floral Monochrome Jumper, which I instantly fell in love with. Again I thought this was a really cute piece to pair with my MOM jeans seeing as i'm living in them at the minute. Whilst I was browsing around, I noticed a bunch of beanies in the men's section all priced at £3 (cheaper than women's beanies) so I picked up two, the first being this Green Speckled Knit Beanie and the second being this Wintery Bobble Beanie. I find that I prefer mens beanies as they are slightly bigger and fit my head more comfortably than the women's ones! Sticking with winter accessories, I literally scoured the whole shop for the tartan scarves i'd seen on quite a few blogs and I eventually found them. Unfortunately they only had this Black & White Tartan Scarf, which I really like but I will still be hunting down the red/green ones! Lastly I picked up some Silver Stacking Rings (not photographed) as i've wanted some for ages and these seemed like a good deal, five rings for £3.. bargain!

After seeing this everywhere last Christmas I was adamant that if it came back this year I would get my hands on it. I'm not a huge Lush junkie having only tried a handful of their products but they never disappoint. I'm also not a big bath person, showers are just so much easier but every once in a while when i've had a long day or stressful week I like to unwind with a good bubble bath and i've been loving this product a lot recently.

The Lush Magic Wand Bubble Bar, is a solid version of their best selling Snow Fairy Shower Gel for those who prefer baths. A bubblebar that you swish around in your bath water to create mounds of pink snow fairy bubbles and the best bit is that it's reusable!

If you love Snow Fairy just as much as me, then you'll love this. Can I first point out how cute this is!? The pink wand with Christmasy bells attached to it, it get's me really in the spirit for Christmas and it's only November. I've used this a few times now, swishing it around whilst my bath is running to create loads of bubbles and it also turns your bath a baby pink colour that doesn't stain your bath tub after, thank god. It literally feels like you're bathing in a tub of Snow Fairy, it fills the air with the scent and it leaves your skin feeling so soft and smelling of Snow Fairy. Having using this a few times now, I would have expected to have pretty much used it all up but i've still got quite a bit of this left, I guess it depends on how much bubbles you want.

All in all I love this product and if you love Snow Fairy then i'd suggest you pick this up! I love the Lush christmas range, i'm just so sad they didn't bring the moustache bubble bar back :(

Have you tried this out?

Also have you entered my 500 Follower Giveaway, where a mini bottle of Snow Fairy is up for grabs? Enter here.

I have another nail art kind of post for you guys today, not a tutorial as such because i'm no expert when it comes to nail art, but I will try to talk you guys through what I did.

So the other weekend I woke up far too early and the clocks going back really didn't help, so I was just reading some blogs and watching a few Youtube videos and I came across Islay's newest nail art tutorial (watch here) and I thought i'd give it a go. Now I haven't done the exact same techniques as Islay, as I only have a few dotting tools and not the right colours, but this is my take on it and for a first attempt i'm pretty darn impressed with myself.

So, I started off by applying two coats of the Essie 'Bikini so Teeny' and allowed that to dry. I then took a dotting tool and used this to apply the Avon 'Pink Creme' in little cloud shapes (as Islay called them) and again allowed those to dry. I then used a smaller dotting tool and used this to apply both the Max Factor 'Disco Pink' and the Color Club 'Wicker Park' using little strokes to add detailing to look like petals and again allowed that to dry. I didn't use a top coat seeing as I don't have one at the moment, but if I had one I would have put a top coat on. So that is my first attempt at floral nail art.

As you can probably tell from the title this isn't going to my usual type of review as most of my reviews are generally quite up beat and positive but from time to time I do come across a product or two that I really haven't liked. Now, being an honest blogger and all that i'm not going to hide the fact I don't like a product for you guys so I have decided to start another little series where I basically review products that have disappointed me. Sound good? Ok, cool! (Sorry if they are a little lengthy).

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream (Medium) - I bought this back in the summer in the hope to replace my Erborian BB Creme as it was rather pricey to replace, so I thought i'd see what the high street had to offer. I needed a BB Creme that gave a light coverage, but was a little darker than my natural skin tone to match with my fake tan so I chose the shade medium thinking it would be an okay match. Described to be an 8-in-1 BB Cream that created a natural glow, hydrated the skin throughout the day, feels fresh etc etc.. I had high hopes for this product and it's safe to say these were crushed. I applied this normally using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush all over my skin and no word of lie it looked as if I had not applied anything to my skin. I thought maybe I wasn't using enough, so I applied more to try to build the coverage but no that didn't work either. I have tried using this a couple of times since and I still get the same results, I mean I know BB creams are supposed to give a light coverage but it didn't give any.

St Tropez Instant Tan (Light/Medium) - I picked this up as a freebie in a magazine last month I think and I was super excited to try this after hearing the buzz about this around LFW. An instant tanner that was water and transfer resistant, with this British weather? Hell yes! I applied this normally with a tanning mit in circular motions mainly focusing on my legs and gave it a little time to develop, even though this is an instant tan you do have to let it develop a little. As I only noticed a slight colour difference, I applied another layer (as you sometimes have to with instant tanners) in the hopes it would come out a little darker. Even though this did give me a slight golden glow, it just wasn't enough for me, especially on someone pale and to be honest I still looked rather pale. On the other hand, I really do like the idea behind this product and it does do what it says. It doesn't come off if someone spills a drink down you and it doesn't transfer onto clothing (which is a royal pain, especially on white clothing). I think if I had tried the medium/dark shade I would have been more impressed but this shade was far too light for me.

Tigi S Factor Smoothing Lusterizer - I bought this right at the start of the year as it was mega cheap on Fragrance Direct and i'd loved a few products from this range so I thought i'd give it a go. Described as a defrizzer and tamer than softens the hair whilst fighting humidity. This sounds right up my street as my hair can be horrendously frizzy. I applied this after washing my hair, whilst it was still wet, focusing on the lower sections of my hair and then allowed my hair to dry naturally. Now let me backtrack a second, I found when applying this the formula was rather thick and sticky making it quite difficult to spread throughout my hair, it just seemed to stick in one section but I persevered. Truth be told it did leave my hair feeling soft and smelling of strawberry calpol (yum!), but it did nothing what so ever to defrizz my hair and left my hair with a glitter sheen to it as there seems to be shimmer within the formula.. not too sure why. I do use this from time to time, mainly to use it up but it's not a product I would recommend.

Blistex Daily Lip Conditioner - I don't know how many times I mention that I suffer with dry lips but I do and it's that bad that I could be a test bunny for products targeted at dry lips because nothing sorts mine out. Anyway, I bought this a while back to give a test run as a lot of people had recommended it to me. Described as a daily lip conditioner that keeps your lips healthy and in tip top condition. When I first used this I noticed the formula was one i'd never come across before, slightly oily but still balm like. I applied this to my lips and within seconds noticed a tingly feeling, similar to what you get when you use a lip plumper and I thought 'ooh, this must mean it's working'.. no, as soon as the product has soaked in and come off my lips there were dry within minutes, with no sign of it conditioning them, in fact I think they were worse than before applying this stuff. I think it would fine for those who's lips just need a little priming before applying a lip product but not for very dry lips.

Todays post is just a quick one to give you guys a little heads up of the magazine freebies you can get your hands on this month. I don't always post about magazine freebies unless they are really worth it, so here you go!

Glamour Magazine (£2)

In this months Glamour Magazine you can grab yourself a Kate Spade Nails Inc Nail Polish, available in four shades: New York Noir, Uptown Glamour, Soho Silver and Big Apple Red. I picked up Big Apple Red, which is this lovely true red shade. I'd been wanting a new red nail varnish for a while and I had been eyeing up a few from Nails Inc so I am really happy I got my hands on this!

Elle Magazine (£4)

In this months Elle Magazine you can grab yourself a mini sample of Benefit's Lip Gloss. Available in three shades, Coralista, Hoola or Dandelion. I picked up Hoola, a shimmery nude shade and this was the only one left, but I would have been happy with any of them to be honest.

Marie Claire (£3.90)

In this months Marie Claire you can also grab a free L'Occitane Hand Cream. From what i've read there are four different ones up for grabs, Original Shea Butter, Pastionate Jasmine, Rose Tenderness and Subtle Violet. I decided not to get this as I have far too many hand creams that I don't use, but I thought i'd let you guys know.

Hope this has helped and given you the heads up if you've been wanting to try any of these products!

I've been meaning to do a post like this for a while and with a lot of you requesting it recently, it's finally given me the push to sit down a figure out this post to give you guys a rundown on the foundations I use. I thought this might come in handy to those with a similar skin type to me and to also give you guys some tips!

I don't really talk about my skin type too often, but I would say I have combination skin with some dry areas and some oily areas, which changes quite a lot. Sometimes my skin isn't dry at all but can be really oily or the other way around so I have quite a few different foundations in the mix that I use when I feel appropriate.

Bourjois Happy Light Foundation(No. 50 Porcelain) - This foundation truth be told i've only been using for a couple of weeks, but this has given me enough time to figure out this foundation. Described to give a luminous and flawless complexion in any light. For me this foundation works really well when my skin is looking a little dull as it adds a minimal amount of radiance whilst also giving a slight matte finish, it's somewhere in the middle of matte and dewy which I really like. I also really like this foundation as it gives a light - medium coverage, which is versatile enough for me and will work great all year round. I've found that this foundation is probably more tailored to more combination/oily skin and I would say it isn't suitable for those of you who have dry skin or dry patches as it does cling to any dry areas as it did to me, but I have found that using an exfoliant during my skincare routine and applying a primer before applying this foundation does help.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation(100 Ivory) - An old favourite of mine and one that had very mixed reviews when it was released at the beginning of the year but I find it works well for my skin. Described to visably reawaken the skin with it's anti-fatigue effect and gives an illuminous finish with a radiant glow. Similar to the previous foundation I use this when my skin is looking a little dull or when i'm really tired as it instantly makes your skin look more awake as the formula contains a really tiny amount of shimmer to add a little radiance to the skin. I found that I really enjoyed using this during the end of winter/start of spring but during the summer months it just made me look a little too radiant, almost as if I had a sweaty sheen to my face (not nice), so if you have extremely oily skin, I wouldn't recommend this. It has a light-medium coverage, but I would say it build able and lasts really well throughout the day.

Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation(103 True Ivory) - Another foundation from Rimmel that has received some mixed reviews, mainly due to it's shade range being very limited especially for paler skin tones. I own the lightest shade and it is a little too dark for me especially if I haven't fake tanned but I do make it work by buffing it into my neck. Described to give traceless coverage with Advanced Smart Tone technology for perfect skin and radiant skin under any light. Similar to the previous foundation I prefer using this foundation during the end of winter/spring months but I can wear it all year round as it gives a more minimal radiant glow, although again I wouldn't advice using this is you have excessively oily skin (you need a more mattifying foundation). I find that this foundation has a more medium-full coverage and it builds quite easily so you literally need the smallest amount as it goes quite far.

Rimmel Renew & Lift Foundation(100 Ivory) - This was probably one of my first liquid foundations and one I have loved for a long time but i'm not sure if you can still get this. Described as a multi action foundation with hyaluronic serum, which helps smooth and firm the skins texture giving a youthful and radiant finish. So after reading that you probably get the impression this is for more mature skin, but I think it works well for any skin and would work well for most skin types. I find I can use this whether my skin is looking oily or dry as again, it gives a really minimal radiant glow that is slightly dewy but just the right amount of dewy for me. I don't find that it firms the skin, but it definitely leaves my skin looking and feeling really smooth. I love the coverage of this foundation as it has a medium coverage that is really build able and it last so well throughout the day.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation(52 Vanilla) (review here) - Now, this foundation has been a love/hate kind of product for me and i'm probably going to repeat most of the things I covered in my review. Described as a radiance boosting gel foundation that blends to give a flawless complexion and undetectable coverage. Let me first off say if you have oily skin do not try this foundation. It is designed to rev up your skins radiance and give a healthy glow but I found on some occasions it just made my skin look and feel very oily (not nice at all). Having said that, I really enjoy using this foundation when my skin isn't so oily and when I want a lighter coverage especially when i'm having a lazy makeup day. It works really well to give my skin a natural coverage and I found I was wearing this towards the end of summer when it wasn't so hot but still warm enough to want a lighter coverage.

So that is my foundation rundown for combination skin, I do hope this has helped and has given you a better idea of what foundations would work for you.

With the clocks going back and bitter cold weather setting in I thought i'd do an updated shower time essentials, as they have changed a little since my last one. I've dug out an old favourite and added some new products into the mix recently so I thought i'd share those with you today.

The first product that i've been using religiously for the past month or so is the Soap&Glory Clean on Me Shower Gel. This has pretty much replaced the Sugar Crush Body Wash for the time being and I can't get enough of the smell, it's really hard to explain but it's a sweet scent with a fruity hint to it, definitely give it a sniff when you're next in Boots. It's one of those scents that really wakes you up in the morning and lingers on your skin for a few hours.

Next up is the Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel, which I actually found whilst I was unpacking a few weeks ago and i'd completely forgot I had this. I've been using this along side the previous product and again I love the scent of this, it smells like pear drops. Not everyone likes the scent to this but I love it and it get's me in a festive mood! I've picked a perfect time to feature this as it's currently back in store as part of the Lush christmas products, so make sure you pick this up whilst you get the chance too.

The last product that has become an essential at the minute is the Tresemme Platinum Strength Deep Conditioning Treatment. As the weather has become bitterly cold at the moment i've noticed my hair is quite dry at the minute, well drier than normal so i've been using this once or twice a week to just give my hair a deep condition to get some moisture back into lower ends of my hair. It leaves my hair feeling so soft and looking a little more healthy.

Once again it's time to round up the month with some instagram snaps! October has been a hectic month for me getting back into the swing of things with uni, work etc and it's safe to say this month has swung by. I've already submitted one project at uni and i've got to start my dissertation pretty soon, ahhh!

So my little blog has reached 500 BlogLovin' followers, to me this is a massive achievement as I never thought my blog would be where it is today and I can't thank you guys enough. Anyway to celebrate and to thank you all I thought i'd put together a giveaway for you guys, seeing as my last giveaway was when I hit 100 followers.

This giveaway is centred around some of my favourite products and a few that i've wanted for a while, but rather buying them for myself I thought i'd put them in this giveaway because i'm just nice like that and it's my way of thanking you guys!

WHAT YOU WILL WIN:

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel (100g)

O.P.I 'Gold Shatter' Nail Lacquer

Sleek Blush by 3 'Lace' Palette

Maybelline 'Cherry Me' Baby Lips

MUA Heaven & Earth Eyeshadow Palette

RULES:

1. Enter using the Rafflecopter below.

2. This giveaway is open to UK residents only (sorry, to those outside the UK but shipping fee's are ridiculously expensive and certain things such as nail varnish cannot be sent to certain countries).

3. This giveaway will run for four weeks ending on the 30th November.

4. I will be checking entries and deleting any false entries.
5. The winner will be chosen at random through the Rafflecopter, which I will then contact and said winner will have 3 days to respond before another winner is chosen.